Shipping container anchor means



SHIPPING CONTAINER ANCHOR MEANS Filed vApril 13, 1940 463613 wg a @5g-imm llll/[lill] \32 l y ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 7, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE c l f 2,278,885 y SHIEPING fCoNrAINER ANCHOR MEANS .Robert J. Kuhl, Berwick, Pa., assigner to American Car and Foundry Company, New York, 4 "N. vY., a corporation of New Jersey npplicanbnnpra 18, 1948, seran No. 329,468 v (ci. 248-881) y. is used merely for representation since'r other `3 Claims. V"Ilhis invention relaties 'to *anchor means for containers in general 2and Iin particular to .such anchor means'or shipping 4co'r'itainers of v'the less than 'carload lot type.

containers, has been ldesigned to 'becarried onor within specially designed railway or highway vehicles-but'occasions have `arisen wherein L. C. L.

containerscould to advantage be shipped in =or 'I dinary gondola 'cars or in box cars, or even upon at cars. When ysuch occasions arise extreme di''iculty has been .encountered in `attempting to iprovide anchor means preventing shifting of the container on the tcar structure and this is particularly true off 'the type of container mounted on wheels land adapted to be pushed onto or off of the .'frei'ght car oor. Itis an objeo't, therefore, fof the ypresent invention to lprovide an 'anchor means -for shipping containers, which anchor means will firmly retain the container 'upon ythe supporting structure car iloor or'gpl'atform.

4 A further"object -o'f the invention is the provision of'an anchoring means for shipping containers, which #means is carried by 'the container in' such aposition as to be available forinstant use when desired.

A lstill `further object of the invention is the provision of =an `anchor means for shipping containers carried vby'the containers andcapable of being rapidly 'spikedorotherwise fastened to the supporting floorfstructue.

l'I-hese and'other'objects vof the invention 'will be apparent :to persons skilled in the art from astudy of the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a side elevational View `'of one 'form of container 'with parts thereof broken away to better disclose the type of container;

Fig. 2 is an end View of the container shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing a portion of the anchor means in several positions;

Fig. 4 is an end View of the anchor means when in an inoperative position, and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the anchor means and a portion of the container structure.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that the container C is villustrated as 0f the refrigerated type with ice or other refrigerant being charged through an opening protected by cover 2 and with drippage escaping from the container through a valve outlet 4. It is to be types of containers may be used such as shown in Patents 1,937,615 and 1,937,550. The'container in the present instance, however, is formed by a continuous 'frame' 6 of T crosssection to'which 'the iside' wall sheets of the container are fastened. ,-Sinc'e the container isof the f-'rerigerated ity-pe, is, provided with vfloor rack'sand a vlarge-ilor Evlill giving ready `access into "the coritainerinterior; In order that Athe container Lmay v"be loaded in the refrigerator room,r itis preferably mounted Von aplurality of rollers or wheels |2,' the end ones of 'which are carried by swivel caster frames I4, while the central ylines iare carriedfby a rigid -frame I6. 'These caster 'framesfalre'fastened directly 'to reinfrc'ingplate's 1'8 'fastened to "theoor of the container andto 'longitudinally extending angles 2l) attachedjwherever possible 'to the container frame. "-As clearly shown in Fig. "2 the "container isalso preierablyuprovided'with a hinged'pulling tongue `22 adapted 'to receive 'ajhahdleV o'r other means by which the container may `be Ypulled or psh'edweither'f"manually Yor mechanically `into position. 8 Inorderto prevent m-ovementoff-the container upon ther supporting'striicturel anchor means vA are`p`1"ovi"ded` located adjacent the Ilower corners of the ifconftain'er yand 'at least at 4one end thereof. In the fpreseht `instance K5these 'anchor 'means comprise a" channel yshaped Trame or base member having a web 24"vvith 'the'uppe'r portion cutaway and'we'ldedtthe downturned :leg of theIT form frame, while the-`o"u.'twardl'y vdirected anges 26 overlap and are welded or otherwise secured to the outeface of lthefhead of fthe'T fframe memunderstood, of course, that this type of container ber. '-In order to brace 4'the 'connection of, this frame orfbase memberto the "container'a plurality--ofvplates "28 are lprovi'dec'l welded to 'the inturned leg of the T frame and to the downturned leg thereof, as Well as to the back of the web 24, all as clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The base member and its bracing means, which have Ibeen shown as welded to the container frame, may obviously be fastened to the frame by means of bolts or other securing means, permitting its ready assembly or attachment to existing containers. The channel shaped frame or base member is of such a length as to clear the supporting structure, thereby permitting ready operation of the container on the supporting structure, but in order that the container may be anchored to the supporting structure a folding extension member 3l) is provided. This member is shown as of semi-pan shape, having side walls 32, end wall 34, all connected together by a side wall 36. The side walls 32 are pierced to receive a pin or other member 38 extending completely through the side walls and through slots 4D formed in the outwardly directed flanges of the base member. As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3, these slots are of considerable length and inclined slightly from the vertical in order that the upper ends will be placed a greater distance from the web of the base member than are the lower ends o-f the slots. It will also be seen that one corner of the flanges 32 of the folding extension member are left square, while the other corner is rounded as at 42 and concentric with the pin 38. The flange 34 of the folding extension member is provided with openings or holes 44 through which spikes or other securing means 46 may be driven and into the supporting structure upon which the container rests. While the pin 38 has been shown as continuous, it is obvious that short pins may be used, thus permitting a more ready driving of the spikes or other securing means without the interference of the central portion of the pin 38.

The operation of the anchor means is as follows and assuming the anchor means to be in the position as shown in Figure 1: A pry bar or other means may be inserted or driven between the flange 34 and the supporting floor structure, thus permitting a lifting of the folding extension member 30 with the consequent removal of the spiking means. Vertical movement of the folding extension member is permitted by the elongated slots 40 formed in the base member. As soon as the spikes have been removed an operator may grasp the folding extension member and lift it substantially vertically in the slots until such time as the pin 38 reaches the upper end of the slot, after which the extension member may be folded inwardly toward the container and dropped down in the slot until the pin 38 reaches the lower end thereof. The extension member will now be in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 and will be positively retained in this position due to its own weight and the fact that the squared corner on flange 32 will prevent any rotation of the extension member without a positive lifting of the member. It is, of course, obvious that in moving from the spiked position of Fig. 1 to the folded position of Fig. 3 an operator will not exert any conscious lifting effort but merely a folding effort, since the rounded edges of flanges 32 will of themselves force the extension member to lift in the slots as the member is folded.

While the invention has been described more or less in detail, it is obvious that various modifications and rearrangements of parts, other than those shown and described, may be made and all such modifications and rearrangements of parts are contemplated as will fall within the scope of the appended claims which define my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Anchor means for freight or other containers comprising a base member secured to the container and having side iianges directed outwardly from the container, a folding extension member having side flanges substantially paralleling the .base member anges, substantially vertically elongated slots in the flanges of said base member and pivot means extending through the slots and through the flanges of the extension member and joining said members together for relative pivotal and sliding movements, said slots being formed in the base member and inclined upwardly and outwardly whereby said extension member will move laterally away from the base member for rotation of the extension during upward sliding movements and be urged against the base member by sliding vertically downward in the limiting pivotal positions.

2. A freight container adapted to rest upon a. floor or platform and comprising, a freight receiving structure, means fastened to and supporting said structure upon the floor or platform, anchor means consisting of a base member secured to the container with the lower end thereof in spaced relation to the floor or platform, a folding extension member pivotally connected to the base member by means including substantially vertically elongated slots, said slots being inclined upwardly and outwardly from the container wall whereby said extension member will move-laterally away from the container during upward sliding movement of the extension member thereby permitting rotation of the extension, and openings in said extension member to receive fasteners for securing the extension to the floor or platform.

3. A freight container adapted to rest upon a floor or platform and comprising, a freight receiving structure', means fastened to and supporting said structure upon the floor or platform, anchor means consisting of a base member secured to the container with the lower end thereof in spaced relation to the iioor or platform, a folding extension member pivotally connected to the base member by means including substantially vertically elongated slots, and said slots being inclined upwardly and outwardly from the container wall whereby said extension member will move laterally toward the container as the eX- tension is secured to the floor or platform and may be swung to an inoperative position following an upward sliding movement of theextension member.

ROBERT J. KUHL. 

